The World of Fantasy - A Labyrinth Story
by SimonFolly
Summary: After being tricked in a game of wits by the Goblin King, 19 yr. old Becca Kasey takes her young brother's place as an indebted servant in Jareth's royal court, all her freedom lost. Living both in Reality and the Underground, Becca must find some way to break her bond with Jareth before she losses more than just her mind, because nothing is as it seems in the Labyrinth. JarethXOC


**So... I want to apologize upfront to those people who are avid Sarah and Jareth shipers. This isn't that story...although I totally agree with each and every one of you. Sarah is the only person who should rule beside Jareth and I will believe that till I die.**

**But I couldn't help but wonder... What if, just what if, Sarah and Jareth never ended up together? What if someone else came to the Labyrinth? What would have happened? It was a strange idea, but a story began forming.**

**And so, this is that story.**

**Modern, yet familiar. I'm letting myself explore the Labyrinth as I remember and expanding upon it as my imagination lets me, throwing caution to the wind and letting myself tell a story that will never be true, but one that needed be told.**

**All I ask is that you give it a chance. And I hope with all my heart that you enjoy it.**

**Loyally,**

**SF**

Midterms are the worst. The. Worst.

Especially when you're called home last minute by a freaked out sister and your mother is MIA.

To be fair, my mother really wasn't missing, she's was just working, out of town...more like out of the country, and so she wasn't home.

And my sister, she's getting married in five months. Everything freaks her out. So, I really wasn't that surprised when Madeline called me at eight forty-five the Friday before my midterms week and asked me to come home. Apparently, she and her fiancé Clark had managed to snag some opening in a high class venue for an preview, but it was in upper state New York and they needed to leave as soon as possible. Since Madeline and I share blood, I was naturally her first choice to watch our seven year old brother Daniel for the weekend.

I was three-fourths of the way finished with my sophomore year at Salem State University, up to my eyeballs in unfinished assignments and study materials, and needed every waking moment to prepare myself for the tests that could either make or break my grades for the semester.

So naturally I went home.

Going home wasn't really a problem, and truth be told, I had come home almost every other weekend since I started my freshmen year of college. My brother was seven, having been born just after my father had passed away, leaving my mom with one daughter in college, myself as stubborn preteen, and mounds of medical bills. For the past six years, my mom had worked two or three jobs, painted and her sold art on the side, helped my sister with her tuition, and fought a rising debt all on her own. I would look after Danny while my mom worked night shifts for one job and then she'd take him to work during the day while I was at school. When I was seventeen, the artwork that my mom sold for extra cash got began to become famous along the east coast, and in a few mere months she quickly picked up a sponsor. Eventually she quit her two jobs, paid off the rest of our medical bills, and began to paint both for a profession and as a passion. She was an incredible woman, and an incredibly tired one; the least I could do was try and help when I could.

It also helped living no more than an hour away.

I flipped my Jeep's lights to bright as I pulled off the old highway, my windshield wipers easily clearing away the light drizzle of rain that had followed me home and onto one of the many back roads that stretched the Massachusetts state. I had left Salem almost half an hour ago, but driving through the dark made me go considerably slower. The drive was beautiful in the day time; it was the type of road that was used for expensive car commercials showing hundreds of trees the hung over the road, now green with their early spring buds. At night though, I did my best to avoid deer, potholes, fallen branches, serial killers, and anything else that seemed to regularly liter the back roads of Massachusetts. This road was one of the many unmarked drives that lead to random splashes of property in the sea of dense trees, each property about two or three miles from the nearest neighbor. Needless to say, we didn't get visitors very often.

After a slow twenty minutes, I eventually turned and downshifted to accommodate the muddy swamp that was acting as my driveway. It was still another half mile to my house, but my parents had always enjoyed the seclusion.

Like I said, not many visitors. Ever.

I watched my house as it began to materialize through the trees, the light casting an eerie glow from the old Victorian windows dingy from the March rain. I swung my Jeep in as tight of a circle as I could manage in the mud and pulled up close to the walkway. I shut the engine off, letting the lights fade to black, but I didn't move, listening to the rain patter against the roof.

I tightened my grip on my steering wheel, curious. Something was off.

I leaned to the side and peered through the passenger window, studying the house. It all looked that same; the dark gray paint and the white shutters; even in the dark you could see the slight tilt in the foundation that caused the house to dip lightly to the right.

It all _looked_ normal, so then why didn't it _feel_ normal?

I hadn't noticed anything until I turned up the driveway, a strangely pleasant but frightening chill slowly entangling my heart. It was if my entire body had gone numb in an instant and was now waking, tingling and yet slowly growing cold. What was really odd was how familiar it was to me and yet it made me anxious, wary.

It felt as if it was both a warning and a temptation.

I took a deep breath, ignoring the small cloud that formed as I released it. I couldn't place the feeling, but I concluded it was merely the weather. Freezing rain was not uncommon this time of year...

I shook my head and quickly pulled the hood of my rain jacket up. I grabbed my duffel bag, swinging it onto my shoulder in on easy motion as I pushed open my door. I walked up the old, crumbling steps to the front door, knowing it would be unlocked, and I let myself in.

"Madeline?" I called, setting my bag on the floor. I shut the door and took a few steps forward into the family room, Danny's toys and coloring books scattered on the floor. I took off my coat and shook off the water, draping it on the wooden banister that led upstairs. There were two bags at the end of the steps, along with Madeline's purse; she must be waiting for Clark.

"Helloooooooooooo?" I yelled, deliberately being obnoxious.

It was silent a few seconds more and then I was suddenly greeted by the sound of little feet above, Danny running somewhere upstairs.

"Becca!" He yelled, appearing at the top of the stairs, his face barely containing the smile that it held. I smiled back, running up the stairs to meet him halfway and wrap him in a hug. He laughed as I carried him up again, spinning him as he held me tight.

"Hey there buddy." I said, setting him back on the ground. Danny smiled up at me, one of his teeth having gone missing since I saw him last. He was slightly taller too, the top of his dark auburn head now reaching my hip bone. He grabbed my hand, pulling me towards his room.

"Becca, I want you see my fort! I've been building it all by myself. Madeline said I could stay up since you were coming home!"

"Oh did she?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, but I gently pulled away as Madeline appeared downstairs, her face flooding with relief at seeing me. I picked Danny up and swung him onto my hip as I walked back downstairs.

"I said till nine-thirty," Madeline corrected, "But we both know how well he listens." She smiled as she hugged me, tense. I could tell she was stressed.

"Thank you so much for being able to come. Clark will be here any moment to take me to the airport." She said, and I could tell she was being sincere. I shrugged, setting Danny back down on the floor.

"It's no big deal. I kind of like the kid." I replied, mussing Danny's hair. He growled at me and broke away from my hand, but giving me a small smile before running back up the stairs to his room.

"Becca come see it when you're done!" He called as his door shut.

"I really am sorry to take you away from campus the week before your exams, but it was urgent. And I didn't think Wilma would drive out here this late to watch him." Madeline stated, moving into the kitchen and I followed behind, nodding in agreement.

Wilma was Danny's nanny, in the extremely rare cases that neither Madeline, our mother, nor myself could be home. She was a cranky old women from Denmark who had a strange affinity for children and cared little for me or my sister. I was glad Madeline didn't call her; she kind of gave me the creeps.

"When will mom be home?" I asked, reaching for an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. Madeline shrugged, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, acting fidgety. "Probably late Sunday night."

I paused in my munching, looking at her. She wasn't telling me something. "And what time will _you_ be home?"

Madeline didn't look at me as lights flooded the family room from Clark's patrol car speeding up the driveway. She quickly moved to the living room, trying to escape from my concerned question.

"Monday night at the earliest." She relented, walking towards the front door.

I gapped at her, a small panic grasping my heart. "Madeline, what happens if mom isn't back on Sunday? I have to be back on campus. I have a test that morning!"

Madeline didn't answer as she opened the door, her fiancé quickly jumping the steps to duck inside from the rain. Clark gave Madeline a quick kiss on the cheek and then wandered over to give me a quick hug.

Clark was one of three police officers who patrolled the area outside of the small town Paisley, Massachusetts that included our property within its county lines. He was young for his position, barely thirty-one, but he enjoyed his work since there was almost nothing for him to do except drive the back roads and listen to audio books, which he did often. Clark was incredibly smart because of it and one of the kindest people I knew. He had the classic prep school boyish looks with dark hair and bright brown eyes, a great complement to my sisters dark auburn hair and crisp blue eyes.

"Hey there, young one." Clark said, giving me a brief squeeze before escaping back outside with Madeline's bags. He had become very good at understanding when a sister fight was brewing, the sudden tension between my sister apparent as we faced off on opposite sides of the room.

Madeline gently swept back a piece of her hair into her ponytail, trying to remain calm. "You can just email your professors, Becca." She said, "They'll understand. Tell them it was a...family emergency."

"It's not that easy." I countered. "Professors usually don't change their schedules for just one student."

"It was that easy when I was in school."

"That's probably why you didn't finish school..."

That struck a nerve. Madeline shot me a look that swore death if I said anything more, but I knew it was an empty threat. I took another bite of my apple as Clark came back into the house and diverted Madeline's attention for a few moments. I casually walked back into the kitchen and pulled out my iPhone to begin typing out the emails I didn't want to send, praying the rain wasn't disrupting what little internet our house was able to receive. I listened to their conversation as I leaned against the counter, annoyed with my sister for tricking me.

If there was one thing that annoyed me most, it was being lied too.

"Clark!" My sister cried suddenly, "I need you there! Isn't there anyone who can sub for your patrol?"

"I'm sorry babe, but no. I've already taken too many days off helping you find groomsmen attire. The chief says I need to work for the rest of this month before I take any more time off."

I could hear Madeline's pout from the other room but she knew not to pick a fight with me and her fiancé in the same night. Madeline was never one to shy away from dramatics; fitting since she was an aspiring actor.

Clark came into the kitchen then as I pressed SEND on one of my emails, the spiny wheel of death appearing as my phone searched for a signal. I set the phone down as I hugged Clark. He gently ruffled my hair and said goodbye.

"I'll come by tomorrow night to see you and Danny when I get off. We can make a late dinner?" He asked. Clark had been dating my sister for almost three years when he proposed. He was the oldest of three children and had a natural tendency to play big brother, something I loved about him.

I nodded happily. "Sounds great! Danny will like the change in company."

Clark smiled and waved as he left the room, saying he'd be by around eight as Madeline came into the room, obviously not pleased. She gave me a quick hug, thanked me again, and said she would try to come home by Sunday night.

"I wish he was coming though." She whined, walking with me to the open door as she zipped up her jacket. "I hate not having his opinion."

"That's what you get for marrying a cop." I said. "He's got weirdo hours."

Madeline sighed in agreement as Clark waved at us from his car, ushering Madeline to hurry. "Yeah, but what are you going to do when you're in love, right?" She said, smiling at me. I laughed lightly; as if I would know. Our small disagreement was all but forgotten and I hugged her one last time before saying goodbye.

"Say goodbye to Danny for me. He's probably asleep in his fort." Madeline said. "I'll see you in a few days." She kissed my cheek and was out the door. I waved goodbye one last time and then closed out the world as the lights faded away down road.

The house suddenly became eerily quiet, the quick tap of the rain on the windows the only audible sound. I breathed deep, the same tingling sensation crawling its way up my spine. There was something off, I could feel it, but looking around the house, everything seemed to be exactly the same. I breathed deep, chilled.

Whatever it was could wait. It was a little after ten, I was ready to sleep, and most likely so was Danny. I returned to the kitchen to grab my phone, my email having been sent successfully and as I passed the window that overlooked the kitchen sink, I jumped slightly as a movement from outside caught my eye. I swore lightly, grabbing my chest as I ran into the counter behind me. A pair of bright yellow eyes watched me from the darkness, the simple silhouette of a cat the only distinguishable shape I could make. I glared at it, mad that it had scared me.

"Geez, you dumb cat..." I breathed, trying to calm my heart. "Don't you know its rude to stare?"

The cat merely tilted it's head and flicked its tail, holding my gaze as I quickly left the room.

Following Madeline's advice, I headed upstairs to Danny's room, and after knocking lightly, I found his room to be still and his bed torn apart. It was indeed an impressive fort; Danny had managed to string blankets from his bed, to his dresser, to shoving them in the door of his closet and in the seal his window. Careful to not damage anything, I crawled through the mess to find Danny asleep under his bed, his favorite stuffed animals barricaded with him against his toy dinosaurs on the other side of the room.

"Alright buddy," I said, gently pulling him out by his arms. "Let's get you to bed."

Danny hardly stirred as I moved him, quickly wrapping his arms around me as I pulled him out and squeezed through the nearest gap in the blankets. Thankfully it was right next to the bed and I took his last, one unused blanket to cover him as he settled into his pillow, already dressed in his pajamas. I kissed him goodnight and then disappeared back under the blankets to make my way out. Reaching the door, looked at him one last time to make sure he was content and I flipped out the light, letting his night light fill his room with warm glow as I shut the door.

I went back downstairs to grab my bag and then took the stairs two at a time to head to my room, using what little energy I had left. Pulling my hair into a ponytail, I quickly changed and washed my face, tearing my bag apart looking for everything I needed to get ready. Finally, I wandered from the bathroom to my room and collapsed into the bed, letting the worn comforter of my childhood engulf my tired mind and body. I rolled over, reaching out to the wall and shut off the light, letting darkness settle.

I laid there for a moment, listening to my breathing and the sound of the rain, the slow chill starting once again. I was too tired to try and wonder what it was, so I let it come. It was an odd feeling, so strange, but it felt...odd.

I closed my eyes, unsure of what to think, so I drifted off to sleep, absent mindedly pulling a blanket over me to keep the chill away.


End file.
